Single parents must now work seven more hours a week to avoid poverty than in 2010, report finds

Cuts to in-work benefits ‘consistently run against positive tide’ of tackling poverty, find Resolution Foundation

A single parent with two children in a national living wage job needs to work 23 hours per week today in order to live free of poverty (Getty)

Single parents must now work an additional seven hours a week than they did 10 years ago to avoid falling into poverty, according to a new report.

Research by the Resolution Foundation warns benefit cuts have “negated” the impact of rising employment on poverty rates, leaving only those with high pay or a lot of hours able to lift their families above the poverty threshold.

A single parent with two children in a national living wage job would now need to work 23 hours a week to live free of poverty, compared to the 16 hours that would have been required in the absence of the benefit cuts made post-2010, the report finds.